Footage of UFO ‘following’ United Airlines flight is AI-generated
The video was initially labelled as AI-generated by its creator before being misrepresented without context
CLAIM
Footage posted to X purported to show an unidentified flying object visible from the window of a United Airlines jet as the object was said to be ‘following’ the passenger plane.
BACKGROUND
Footage began to come into wide circulation across X, formerly Twitter, on December 22 and 23, purporting to show a UFO flying outside the window of a passenger plane.
Various versions posted by a number of accounts racked up hundreds of thousands of views. One version uploaded by Jay Anderson who posts as @TheProjectUnity, was viewed more than 320,000 times. The uploader describes themselves as an “OSINT Researcher” with 156,000 followers.
Other versions of the video were reshared by accounts called @UfoBloke — with over 630,000 views — and @Minneapolis420. A version published by @Civil_Disco was shared with the caption: “Tampa to Newark flight on United.”
Meanwhile an early reshare of this video by “Texas Patriot” @Texasbrn also bore a caption about a United Airlines flight, and was viewed at least 1.4 million times.
There has been an increased focus on purported UFOs and other unidentified aerial phenomena amid recent reports of drone sightings over parts of the United States, particularly around New Jersey and near military bases around the country.
While officials have confirmed some of the sightings, experts said many of them are likely to be legal drones, regular planes or stars.
METHOD
A reverse image search on the first version of this video that we saw led us to several others posted on X, including some that we mentioned in the above section.
Unable to find an original on X or via a reverse image search, we went over to TikTok to search for similar videos. TikTok thumbnails do not regularly show up on reverse image search results.
We were able to find this account on TikTok, called FiendCore, which regularly posts AI-generated material, created for entertainment purposes.
The video of the UFO was uploaded to this page on Sunday morning, December 22 at 6:46 a.m. GMT, which may have been Saturday evening local time depending on the location of the uploader.
This is earlier than any of the versions we found on X, which were mainly uploaded on Sunday evening or Monday, December 23.
The TikTok uploader was a creator of AI-generated content, and even had a link in their bio where people could pay for commissioned AI-generated work. They described themselves as: “Hi there I am Fiendcore, but you can just call me Fiend. I am a digital artist who puts a lot of effort into making high-quality AI videos and images.”
The video of the UFO was posted with the caption: “Strange UFO Drone caught on camera.” However, the creator labelled the video as AI-generated. It had racked up over 177,000 views and nearly 3,000 likes on TikTok.
Despite the label, several commenters were fooled by the video, with some asking whether it was AI or questioning why no one else on board the flight captured footage of the UFO. The uploader confirmed with replies like “Indeed it’s ai generated lol” and “Nah I have a fear of flying so I just ai generated it as it says under the title”.
While the uploader seems to focus on scary videos of mythical creatures, they have published other UFO AI-generated clips in the past, including this one and this one also featuring a plane window from several days ago.
In a comment beneath that video, the uploader wrote: “My intention isn’t to deceive. I just like to entertain or create interest or scare people lol.”
From this analysis, we can conclude that the video was AI-generated for entertainment purposes and does not show an actual UFO flying near the window of a United Airlines flight.
RATING
The video was initially labelled as AI-generated by its creator before being misrepresented without context on other platforms.
SOURCES
X (formerly Twitter). Jay Anderson (2024). Available at: BREAKING: UFO/UAP ‘Following’ a United Airlines Flight?! [Accessed 24 Dec. 2024].
X (formerly Twitter). (2024). Available at: Excellent footage of a UFO UAP captured from a United Airlines Flight! [Accessed 24 Dec. 2024].
X (formerly Twitter). (2024). Available at: Excellent footage of a UFO UAP captured from a United Airlines Flight! [Accessed 24 Dec. 2024].
X (formerly Twitter). (2024). Available at: This was seen on a United Airlines flight. [Accessed 24 Dec. 2024].
X (formerly Twitter). (2024). Available at: Tampa to Newark flight on United [Accessed 24 Dec. 2024].
Kerr, D. (2024). It’s probably just a plane: drone experts advise calm over New Jersey sightings. [online] the Guardian. [Accessed 24 Dec. 2024].
Britzky, H. (2024). Drones continue to buzz over US bases. The military isn’t sure why or how to stop them. [online] CNN. [Accessed 24 Dec. 2024].
Tiktok.com. (2024). TikTok – Make Your Day / FiendCore. [online] Available here. [Accessed 24 Dec. 2024].
Tiktok.com. (2024). TikTok – Make Your Day / FiendCore. [online] Available here. [Accessed 24 Dec. 2024].
Tiktok.com. (2024). TikTok – Make Your Day / FiendCore. [online] Available here. [Accessed 24 Dec. 2024].